Barcelona name Messi as captain, whilst Sergi Roberto is named

Barcelona have named their club captains for the upcoming season with Lionel Messi taking the captains armband from Andres Iniesta, who left the club in May.

With Iniesta calling time on his career at the Camp Nou, Ernesto Valverde and officials at the Catalan club were desperate to name their new captains before the Spanish Supercopa tie with Sevilla this coming Sunday.

As expected, Messi, has been named as club captain, following on from Iniesta and former team-mates Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol.

Sergio Busquets is named as second choice captain, whilst Gerard Pique has been named third.

The surprise and most exciting name called up to be a captain this coming season is Sergi Roberto, whose influence has been truly felt in recent seasons.

The young utility man has rose from the club’s famed La Masia setup and played an important part in various wins over Real Madrid and the comeback in the Champions League against Paris Saint Germain two seasons back.

All four captains are from La Masia, whilst the likes of Jordi Alba and Marc Andre ter-Stegen are expected to be back-ups.

Barca kick off their competitive season against Sevilla on Sunday in a rare one-legged Supercopa tie.